Headlines

Ducks-Canucks Preview

The Vancouver Canucks lost six of their first seven games at home this season. They haven't lost in regulation at General Motors Place since.

The Canucks try to extend their point streak at home to 12 games on Sunday when they host the Anaheim Ducks.

Vancouver (21-13-4) was outscored 26-13 during a 1-6-0 start to their home schedule. Since a 3-0 loss to Nashville on Nov. 1, though, the Canucks have been nearly unbeatable on home ice. They're 9-0-2 in that span while outscoring the opposition 34-10.

Roberto Luongo has been between the pipes for every Canucks home game this season, and during the team's home unbeaten stretch he has a 0.89 goals-against average and .967 save percentage.

He's 5-5-0 with a 2.00 GAA against the Ducks in his career.

Luongo gave up his most goals of his home hot streak Thursday, but Vancouver still beat Calgary 5-3.

"It was a sloppy game, there was a lot of turnovers on both sides and fortunately we were able to get some goals," Luongo said.

The Canucks received goals from some unlikely sources. Defenseman Sami Salo scored his first of the season and rookie Mason Raymond scored his third goal and added an assist in the victory.

Raymond's first career goal came against the Ducks in a 3-2 Vancouver win Dec. 12 at Anaheim. He has seven points in eight games since being recalled from the AHL.

The Canucks have won both meetings with the Ducks this season. However, before a 4-0 win on Nov. 27, they had dropped six straight at home in the series.

Markus Naslund, whose 13 goals rank second on the team behind Daniel Sedin's 16, has 20 goals and 28 assists in 48 career games against the Ducks.

Anaheim (19-16-5) had won four in a row overall and four straight on the road prior to a 5-3 loss at Calgary on Saturday.

The Ducks squandered a two-goal lead as the Flames scored the game's final four goals, including Jarome Iginla's game-winner on the power play with less than four minutes remaining.

"We gave them far too many opportunities," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "You can't continually kill penalties in the third period and expect to win the hockey game."

Though they've played better lately, the Ducks' defense of their Stanley Cup championship hasn't gone as well as expected, largely due to their struggles on special teams. They've been shorthanded a league-high 220 times - 33 more than the next-closest team - and they're among the NHL's bottom 10 teams in killing penalties.

One major recent boost for the Ducks has been the return of defenseman Scott Niedermayer. Last season's Conn Smythe trophy winner was leaning toward retirement at the beginning of 2007-08, but since he returned on Dec. 16, the Ducks are 4-1-1.

He picked up his first goal since April 4 in Saturday's loss to the Flames.

Anaheim leading scorer Corey Perry has 20 goals on the season and three in his past five games, but he's never scored in nine games against the Canucks.